MIDSUMMER DREAM: Strictly speaking, summer is less...

MIDSUMMER DREAM: Strictly speaking, summer is less than a month old. But for those who think of it as June, July and August, today is the halfway point, and so far it’s been a beaut. “June was really a lovely month,” said Rea Strange of Pacific Weather Analysis. Notably absent: Ventura County’s notorious June gloom. Strange counted 18 entirely clear days last month and only one sunless day. As for July, “We haven’t had a totally clear day yet, but it looks like it’s improving.”. . . . Summer is often the doldrums for surfers, but not this year. The water’s warmer than usual and southern storms are making waves.

PURPLE PASSIONS: In Thousand Oaks, beige is such the rage that a car dealer’s off-white building once ran afoul of the city’s color cops for not being beige enough. So it’s no wonder the city’s approval of purple and green entrances at The Oaks mall raised a ruckus (B4). . . . The earth tones demanded by Thousand Oaks and Camarillo were popular in the ‘70s but have become passe , says Camarillo architect Nils Johnson. “Grays, greens and purples are more the colors today,” he said. Fun spots for architects: “Ventura seems to be more open, and Oxnard.”

ART ATTACK: Tony Duquette’s set designs won a Tony award. His artwork filled a one-man show at the Louvre. And the “living art” structures he has created at his Ventura County ranch may earn him a violation notice from zoning officials (Ventura County Life, J6). . . . For the 79-year-old Duquette, the controversy reflects modern priorities: “There is no interest in art today.”

FLEET’S IN: After seven months in Somalia and Guam, Seabee Battalion 40 is returning to its home base in Port Hueneme. Half of the 600-man group arrived last week and the rest are due to land at Point Mugu on Friday. . . . While families eagerly await their arrival, it will be a wash for local merchants, base spokeswoman Linda Wadley said. Seabee Battalion 3 left Port Hueneme Wednesday to replace Battalion 40 in Guam.